Former Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor celebrated Freddie Mercury‘s 65th birthday last night (September 5) at a charity event at London‘s Savoy Hotel.

Stephen Fry, Chris Evans, Fearne Cotton, Ben Elton, Nicola Roberts and Matt Lucas also attended the auction for The Mercury Phoenix Trust, which raises money to help the global fight against HIV/AIDS. Freddie Mercury died of AIDS-related pneumonia on November 24 1991.

Yesterday Brian May paid tribute to Freddie Mercury on a specially created Google blog. May wrote fondly of his former bandmate’s attitude and approach to songwriting, calling him a “free spirit”.

He said: “Freddie was fully focused, never allowing anything or anyone to get in the way of his vision for the future. He was truly a free spirit. There are not many of these in the world. To achieve this, you have to be, like Freddie, fearless, unafraid of upsetting anyone’s apple cart. To create with Freddie was always stimulating to the max. He was daring, always sensing a way to get outside the box.”

May also said he believed that Mercury‘s presence in 2011 “seems more potent than ever” and of how his friend “devoured life”.

He wrote: “Freddie would have been 65 this year, and even though physically he is not here, his presence seems more potent than ever. Freddie made the last person at the back of the furthest stand in a stadium feel that he was connected. He lived life to the full. He devoured life. He celebrated every minute. And, like a great comet, he left a luminous trail which will sparkle for many a generation to come. Happy birthday Freddie!”

To read the full blog post, visit Googleblog.blogspot.com/happy-birthday-freddie-mercury.

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